In Canada I've gotten away with buying new reels from England sent by post and no duty or tax and VAT discounted from purchase but 2nd hand rods from the US sent by post held up by customs and sales tax and a collection fee charged on delivery. It's a bit of a crap shoot here. Using mail instead of courier service generally gets me out of paying any duty or fees to custom houses so I always use the mail when buying anything from outside tbe country. Conversly I know owners of a tackle shop who have an account with a courier company through necessity for the business and they have no trouble with them. Oz is further away (from anywhere, ha ha) so likely very different. When I ordered my reels from Billy Clarke in Sheffield they quoted me way more for postage than I thought it would be and I said why? They said well they weigh x which is more than Royal Mail's cutoff for the lower tier price. I said but the specs say they weigh Y! He said yes but with the boxes, spare spools etc it's over, let me weigh again and I'll get back. He comes back and says without either the boxea or the spare spools I can mail them for the lower cost. I said wonderful, keep the boxes. A week later I had my reels and spare spools. Really got to hand it to the guy, between that and patience confirming my credit card I'd say they went the extra mile to get my gear to me, and that's why I always name them.